Ready, Set, Read: 5 Tips to Help You Reach Your Reading Goal
A List of 5 Tips and Tricks to Help You Read More Books and Reach Your Reading Goal
So many books, so little time? Well, not anymore. We may be more than halfway through the year, but you still have time to reach your reading goals.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a couple of books behind your original goal or if you never got around to setting one in the first place. With these quick and easy tips we’ve put together, you’ll be back on track and hitting your goal by the end of the year.
1. Set A Realistic Goal
We all want to read so many books, and while that’s a great thing to want, it’s important to be realistic about your goals. If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that circumstances and situations can change unexpectedly. It’s okay to adjust your reading goal based on what’s going on in your life. It’s not cheating or a sign of defeat, it’s being realistic and setting yourself up for success. So adjust accordingly!
2. Read On The Go
Some of us have now settled into our work-from-home routines. This means no more long commutes to work on the bus or the train — usually a great opportunity to get in some reading. Now we spend that time relishing in a little more sleep before logging on for the day. So how can you make up for that lost time?
If you know you want to read at some point in the day but you’re struggling with how long to read for, why not start by allocating the number of minutes or hours you would normally have spent commuting? This doesn’t mean you have to wake up at 7 AM to read, but rather schedule what would normally be your “35-minute commute” into your daily routine and use that time to disappear into a new book.
3. Diversify Your Reading Medium
Here’s where other mediums of reading come in handy. If you’re a hardcore physical book lover like myself, it might be hard to accept that widening your mediums of reading might help you reach your goals. Audiobooks are great to devour while cooking or cleaning, and sometimes even on a nice walk. Reading on a Kindle is also very convenient when out and about as it can easily fit into most small bags. Diversifying your reading medium allows you to sneak in some reading during times you normally wouldn’t be able to.
4. Diversify Your Genre Of Books
If your reading goal isn’t genre-specific, then take advantage of the wide variety of books the literary world has to offer. Reading back-to-back-to-back books of the same genre can easily become exhausting and could lead to a reading slump. Switch it up!
I tend to keep things interesting by alternating between fiction and non-fiction. I also take into consideration the lengths of the books I’m reading. If you’ve just finished reading a really long book, opt for a shorter read next. Poetry and short-essay collections are my go-to “quick reads!”
5. Make It Part Of Your Routine
Just like you would make time to shower or eat, you can make reading a part of your daily routine. Set a timer on your phone, put your phone on ‘do not disturb’ or turn off notifications and read until your timer goes off. This allows you to read without distractions.
While you can incorporate this into any part of your day, I find reading to be a good way to wind down for the night and I usually try to schedule in 30 minutes of reading before bed. Of course, there’s the risk of being so intrigued by a book that you end up staying awake all night to finish it — but hey, at least you’re one book closer to your reading goal!
Now that you’re equipped with our top 5 reading tips and tricks to help you reach your reading goal. You might be looking for more books to add to your reading list. Well, we’ve got you covered. Check out our Brookstore for some of our top picks.
Esosa Akpata is a 20-something-year-old avid reader, occasional writer, and constant dreamer who enjoys travelling, cheesy rom-coms, and brunch dates with friends. She is passionate about improving the lives of people and communities and has worked in the charitable sector for over five years with a focus on healthcare and education. Her love for reading started as a preteen with The Nancy Drew Mysteries and was reignited in her late teenage years thanks to tear-jerking young-adult novels like The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Today, she enjoys a wide genre of books that include: contemporary fiction, short-essay collections, memoirs, and historical fiction.
Top Three Favourite Books are:
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors
Favourite Brunch Spot: Reyna on King
